Comparison Of Napoleon Bonaparte A Hero Or Villain

There is no question in the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was a significant character in France. However, there have been debates among historians for years around the central question: â€Å"Was Napoleon Bonaparte a hero or a villain?† The answer here relies on how one looks upon the situation. Was Napoleon Bonaparte a savior to the French, or was he a tyrant to the French? Although many historians’ answers do rely deeply onto perspective, their answers also lie within which stage of life Napoleon Bonaparte was in, as well as the shift in opinions that come as time changes. Paul Stock and Phillip Dwyer analyze Napoleon Bonaparte’s influence and through the analysis, debate on whether Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a hero or a villain,†¦show more content†¦Nevertheless for the reasoning, Napoleon Bonaparte was still considered a hero to many. However, Phillip Dwyer presents a reason for why Napoleon was viewed as a â€Å"hero†, which makes him seem more as a villain. Dwyer presents that there was use of â€Å"political imagery and rhetoric used to promote Napoleon in France on the one hand, and the manner in which he behaved in public outside France on the other† (Dwyer 379). Napoleon, although a â€Å"hero† to the French, was â€Å"exaggerating his victories, feeding the Directory inaccurate reports, or simply omitting any embarrassing setbacks that he or his generals may have suffered. The audience he cultivated was in France† (Dwyer 1). Here, Dwyer is showing that Napoleon been deceitful, and with such deceit, the French considered him a hero. Dwyer’s debate brings about that yes, Napoleon was considered a hero, however, do the means of deceit that he achieved his hero standing through implicate Napoleon as a villain? Dwyer believes that Napoleon Bonaparte was considered a hero through a â€Å"hero-savior myth†, yet nevertheless, was considered a hero by the French, and to this d ay is still considered a hero (Dwyer 1). This debate does delve into the larger scale of Napoleon Bonaparte as a whole, as the idea of Napoleon has become such a popular worldwide phenomenon that it is difficult to pinpoint certain works to one area of Napoleon Bonaparte without bleeding into another. However, the aspect on whether